Taylor Swift vs. Pitbull: Why New York City beat Florida

Florida and New York City had the same problem. Tourism marketing experts in both vacation meccas fretted about the younger demographic.

Marketing pros said Florida was increasingly viewed as a hot spot — for grandparents. New York City intimidated millennials.

The solution? Pop stars.

A private-public tourism agency worked out a deal in 2014 with NYC resident Taylor Swift to translate the Big Apple for her fans. A year later, Florida’s private-public agency inked a deal with rapper Pitbull to make beaches seem cool.

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But while New York City is gushing over Swift’s outreach, Florida is reeling from the fallout of its contract with Pitbull.

How did one deal go so bad when the other was such a hit?

Let’s compare.

Tale of the tape

Florida

New York City

Agency that struck deal

Visit Florida

NYC & Company

Music Star

Pitbull (Armando Christian Pérez)

Taylor Swift

Title

Celebrity Tourism Ambassador

Global Welcome Ambassador

Age

35

27

Grammys

2 (2013, 2016)

11 (2010, 2012, 2013, 2016)

2016 earnings

$20 million (6th highest hip-hop artist)

$170 million. (No. 1 all genres)

Debut album

2004

2006

Twitter followers

23 million

82 million

Contract length

2015-2016

2014-2015

Contract duties

Perform in Miami on nationally televised New Year’s Eve Show

Perform at nationally televised New Year’s Eve party in NYC

Do short promotional videos promoting Florida tourism

Do short promotional videos promoting NYC tourism

Use social media accounts twice a month to promote Florida

Use social media accounts to promote NYC

Music video required to show Florida beach scenes

Promote NYC at concerts

Promote Florida beaches at concerts

Estimated value

$8.5 million

$25 million

Price tag

$1 million

$0

Did it work?

It did get Visit Florida’s brand out to 100 million Pitbull fans who might not have seen the message, but it led to the requested resignation of the head of the agency, Will Seccombe. The Florida Legislature is now threatening to shred the agency’s budget, partly because some lawmakers dislike the explicit content of Pitbull’s music.

New York City media excoriated the agency for picking Swift, a Big Apple neophyte born in Pennsylvania, as an ambassador. But the New York Post argued picking Swift wasn’t about appointing a bona fide New Yorker, but rather reaching a new audience via a newcomer such as Tay Tay. As the Post put it: “If anyone can make the urine-soaked street corners appealing to tourists, it’s probably Swift.”